A spectacle temple joint fulfills several requirements. It allows a temple to be moved between a folded position for storage and an open position for wearing by a user. A common type of joint has a “door hinge” type of mechanism. It includes a pin for connecting two hinge halves, each of which is attached to a spectacle frame by screws or rivets. A common type of spectacle frame for holding lenses has a complete geometry, such as a complete circle or a complete rectangle.
In addition, two nose pads extend rearwards from the front of the frame for resting on the nose of a wearer when the spectacle frame is being worn. The common type of nose pad made of soft materials is usually fixed on a metal bracket by a screw. The bracket is further connected to the front of the frame by a thin wire.
In the above construction of joints and nose pads, there are many parts to manufacture and things may go wrong. The screws would become loose and could be lost. It also involves labor intensive assembling procedures.
Lenses are commonly fixed on a spectacle frame either by embedding them in grooves formed on the front of the frame or by holding them with wires. However, both methods make it hard for a user to detach the lenses without tools and undermine the potential of interchanging different lenses, such as prescription lenses and tinted lenses, on the same frame.